NR, utd. has happily just come back from a happy return to Southern-Fried Gameroom Expo (SFGE) . For a convention so soon after a big convention like Momo Con, it had to be a good one to bring new details so quickly with so little time to recharge. SFGE certainly did not disappoint.

Friday started a little rough with it raining while the various developers were bringing in their equipment. Aside from that detail, it provided plenty of time to set up and make the booth look right while attendees were going through registration. For only being open a few hours on Friday, it was a calm night with some play testing and time to ensure things were truly ready to go for the rest of the weekend.

Saturday was absolutely intense. Once people started coming in, the indies room was packed to the brim for several hours. Also, due to space vacancy, Elemensional Rift expanded to cover two booths to fill in gaps in the room. This provided double the opportunities to play Elemensional Rift. With how crowded the room was, it was a big benefit to have additional games running. Looking into the analytics, Elemensional Rift had over 2,000 matches across the two computers in that single day! With only NinRac running both systems, that is an immense task to tackle.

Sunday was an early start but still short day. Elemensional Rift was ready to go early on. For only 5 hours and a lot of the convention a little more relaxed on Sunday, attendance in the indie room was a good bit lower and allowed for a much more relaxed atmosphere and much more breathing room than the day before. As the room was being closed, the SFGE award ceremony took place. SiNKR won the best in show for the indie games and represented our state well. If you get a chance, wish Robert well on another award and check out his game if you get the chance to.

The analytics were very interesting as well. Crispy B. still continues to hold the title of most popular fighter however Overlord Otagaz is catching up fast and giving Crispy B. still competition. The stark contrast between the two has a lot of interesting characteristics. Otagaz also managed to have the greatest amount of individual wins but Psyren and Mana were tied for highest win percentage. The roster and the metagame is truly starting to take shape. Anyone with determination and crafty usage of a character to his or her strength can still win and shift the tides of the metagame. With other showcases coming up throughout the year, there is much potential for how things can shift. In addition, the shift towards polishing the balance and metagame will be taking bigger strides as we approach closer to DreamHack Atlanta in November. There is much more to look forward to throughout the year and more details coming out as well. Keep your eyes peeled and alert as things begin to truly ramp up.

In addition, here are some additional photos of the indie room from SFGE: